are you gonna eat that? » French

VANCOUVER: Chef Dale MacKay’s Ensemble

are you gonna eat that? — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 16:01:09 +0000

Vancouver chef Dale MacKay won Top Chef Canada earlier this week. He was executive chef of highly acclaimed Lumière and DB Bistro before they closed. (My parents loved going to fancy Lumière for ultra special occasions like their wedding anniversary.)

In May, MacKay opened Ensemble Restaurant, featuring “tasting dishes” to highlight his classic French technique, but [...]

CALGARY: Artisan Bistro

are you gonna eat that? — Sun, 15 May 2011 17:01:56 +0000

UPDATE – Summer 2011: Artisan Bistro is now closed.

Artisan Bistro is one of those quaint independent places that I really want to love. It’s a quiet European bistro with a decidedly civilized setting. It recently stopped serving dinner to focus on all-day brunch with a Spanish/French menu.

First the pros. There is lots of choice on [...]

CALGARY: Brasserie Kensington

are you gonna eat that? — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 16:09:57 +0000

It seems the owners of Muse and winebar (and AKA) are intent on taking over the corner of Kensington Road and 11th Street with the opening of Brasserie Kensington.

The new restaurant is right above winebar, where an interior design store used to be. It’s been transformed with the requisite dark wood tables, chairs and [...]

CALGARY: Baguette showdown

are you gonna eat that? — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 16:32:56 +0000

After a waffle breakfast, I had to grab something to go for lunch and somehow Gwendolyn (she’s an enabler) convinced me to get two baguettes for “research.”

Ever the enablee, I chose a baguette with chicken ($8) from Manuel Latruwe, and a Perigord baguette ($10) with duck rillettes from L’Epicerie right next door.

The Latruwe baguette [...]

CALGARY: Colonial Fusion

are you gonna eat that? — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 14:00:50 +0000

Part of the fun in trying restaurants is venturing into newer parts of Calgary. Located in Quarry Park — which still doesn’t fully register on Google Maps or GPS — Colonial Fusion was a bit tricky to find directions for, but it turned out to be pretty straight-forward (Deerfoot to 24 Street East to 107 [...]

CALGARY: Yann macarons and a Bliss pie

are you gonna eat that? — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:29:05 +0000

It’s impossible not to fall in love with Yann Haute Patisserie. First of all, it’s in a cute yellow house in Mission. Then you walk in and are transported to a small piece of France with the smell of fresh croissants and a warm greeting from Jéraldine Blanchard.

She and her husband/pastry chef, Yann, run the [...]

TORONTO: Le Paradis bistro

are you gonna eat that? — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 18:29:29 +0000

Le Paradis in Toronto’s Annex area fits the bill for a relaxed, welcoming neighbourhood bistro with solid French dishes — at extremely reasonable prices.

A favourite of Toronto Chowhounders, the place is packed on a Friday night with what looks like a lot of regulars. To the left of us, a group of 20-something guys [...]

CALGARY: Aller à l’épicerie

are you gonna eat that? — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 05:56:16 +0000

I went to high school in English Canada, where most of my French classes involved sitting through audio tapes where Pierre and Marie would discuss mundane tasks with great animation and perfect elocution.

“Vas-tu à la fête?” “No, je vais étudier à la bibliothèque!”

(Although in Grade 12, there was bizarre scenario in our textbooks about a [...]

TORONTO: Delux bistro

are you gonna eat that? — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 21:09:07 +0000

There are lots of yummy things at Delux, a bistro in a neighbourhood that’s chock full of hot eateries, but there are two items that keep me coming back.

The pressed Cubano sandwich ($15) is divine, with mouth-watering layers of cider-cured pork shoulder, ham, gruyère cheese, cornichons and grainy mustard on homemade bread.

Owner/chef [...]

TORONTO: Great expectations

are you gonna eat that? — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 00:38:41 +0000

I’m not sure why I first wanted to try Thuet. It might have been an intriguing review or an episode of Opening Soon. The bistro is named after chef Marc Thuet, who hails from Alsace, France and has a bit of a bad-boy reputation. He smokes like a chimney and swears like a sailor, but [...]